


Eema

by skinnydips



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst and Feels, Established Tony/Ziva, F/M, Gibbs is briefly mentioned, Tali is a quiet child, Ziva misses Tony, in which Ziva has a child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27622930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skinnydips/pseuds/skinnydips
Summary: all the times Tony was there for her, and the one time he wasn't
Relationships: Ziva David & Talia "Tali" DiNozzo, Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Kudos: 12





	Eema

_Israel, late 2003_

She supposes she shouldn't be surprised, staring at the test in her hand, but she is. Two vivd blue lines stare her in the face, declaring her pregnancy, and all she can think is that she misses Tony. 

"Shit," Ziva breathes, slumping against the bathroom counter behind her. Can she do this? She's strong, has always been described as fiercely independent by friends and foe alike, but she's not sure. And this is a whole other challenge, one she's not sure she's prepared for. 

She wishes Tony was there with her.

_Israel, summer 2004_

She's in the kitchen when her water breaks, the warm liquid sliding down her legs and absolutely soaking her pants. She knows what's going to happen, how this all going to play out, and she's terrified. 

She should have called Tony.

She takes it back immediately; she could do this herself and they would be ok. She supposes she's lucky she found a midwife she trusts, one close by and who knows to keep this secret. To keep it a secret for the woman who easily gave her a false name, the threat of danger always ready to follow.

Ziva dials her number, hunching over when a particularly strong contraction races along her lower back. The midwife picks up after two rings and Ziva lets loose a string of Hebrew curses as another strong contraction follows on the heels of the last one.

"My water broke," Ziva manages to get out, and the midwife says she'll be right over, to just give her ten minutes, and she'll be right there. She groans in pain from the strength of the contractions, rapidly increasing in both length and intensity, and answers the midwife back. 

And when the midwife gets there, takes one look at her, and immediately starts pulling out supplies, Ziva is terrified. 

Terrified because this wasn't supposed to happen in the first place, and Gibbs would kill her if she ever went back again. Terrified because it really did hurt, and the midwife was telling her to push. Terrified because in all the movies she had ever watched with Tony, the father always held the mother's hand during labor and there was no one to hold her hand, or brush the hair off her face, or tell her that she was doing great.

Terrified because she needed, wanted, desperately wished Tony was here with her to hold her hand, instead of back in the States, where he was safe. 

The pain was exquisite. She had worked with Mossad for years, with NCIS, survived being kidnapped and held hostage, but this pain was entirely new to her and she just wanted Tony to hold her hand. 

And just when she thinks she might not be able to bear anything more, the pain releases its hold on her, and there's screaming, crying, and Ziva doesn't know who it's coming from anymore.

"It's a girl," The midwife says, giving her a reassuring smile as she wipes the contents of birth off the rather red child, and Ziva gives her an exhausted smile.

The cries quiets instantly when she's handed to Ziva, and she smiles down at the baby girl nestled in her arms. 

A faint memory wriggles into existence. _A talk with her father in a coffeeshop in D.C. The picture of her with a fake pregnant belly that was accidentally included. Her father asking if it was a boy of a girl. Ziva, embarrassed, insisting it was just a case, but softly admitting it was a girl._

The midwife, having finished with her job, promises Ziva she'll be back in a few days to check up on her, and makes her way out the door. 

"Hello Tali," She murmurs in Hebrew, and Tali, safe in her mother's arms, turns her big eyes on Ziva.

*

Tali might look exactly like Ziva, but she has Tony's eyes.


End file.
